Fabric Abrading Hand Tool

ABSTRACT

A tool for abrading fabrics comprised of a body section, a handle section, and a sheath. The body section includes one or more textured surfaces, such as strips of sandpaper, which will abrade fabric when rubbed over fabric or fabric-covered objects. A user of this tool can create fashionable designs on wearable apparel at home. The sheath protects the textured surface of the body section and combines with the shape of the tool to form a unit that is easily carried in a pocket or small bag.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional application No.60/894,175, Fabric Abrading Hand Tool, filed Mar. 09, 2007.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The claimed invention is a hand tool that causes desired abrasions onfabrics or fabric-covered objects by rubbing.

2. Description of the Related Art

Of the several patents disclosing hand tools for sanding, most or allare directed toward smoothing or polishing the article upon which thework is being performed. Among them is the Petrovich U.S. Pat. No.4,730,430, which discloses a wedge-shaped tool of multiple body sectionsand means for manipulating a removable and flexible abrasive strip. TheGrove U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,278, discloses a manually controlled,pencil-like abrading tool in which the abrasive material is a rope corethat engages and feeds through the body and through the pencil tip. Arope-like device for hand-held sanding is disclosed by Tonello, U.S.Pat. No. 5,395,281. The Montesano U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,739, is not a handtool, but discloses a method for creating a worn look on a new garment'sfabric.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Many clothing stores sell casual apparel that has been manufactured toappear old and worn. “Pre-faded” denim jeans have been popular items forseveral years. More recently, it has become fashionable to wear jeansthat are frayed, scuffed, or have holes in areas that would be subjectto normal wear such as around the pockets, seams and knees. Fashiondesigners and retailers charge a substantially higher price for newclothing that bears this old and worn-out look.

It is an objective of the claimed invention to permit the fashionconscious individual to create the same “worn-out” look on ordinaryjeans and other wearing apparel at home instead of paying high prices atretail stores. The invention is a hand tool with a rigid body sectionhaving textured surfaces. When the tool is rubbed against the selectedfabric, the abrasive action causes desired fading, fraying, scuffing, orholes. In its preferred embodiment, the invention is cylindrical, andthe rigid body section with textured surfaces slips into a sheath suchthat the tool and sheath form a single unit that is easily and safelycarried in a small bag or pocket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings disclose the invention in its best mode, a cylindricalfabric abrading hand tool. Because of its cylindrical shape, the sideand rear elevational views would be identical to the front elevationalviews.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a fabric abrading hand tool with itssheath in place;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view disclosing the handle section and the bodysection partially inserted into its sheath;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view disclosing the fabric abrading toolseparated from its sheath;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the tool with a broken line disclosing thebody section inserted into its sheath.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view with broken lines disclosing the bodysection inserted into its sheath.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A hand tool is disclosed that is useful for abrading fabrics. The toolhas a body section, a handle section and a sheath. FIG. 3. The bodysection 1 is that part of the tool that makes contact with the fabric tobe abraded.

The body section is rigid in order that it may have sufficient strengthto apply pressure to the fabric to be abraded without breaking. It maybe composed of any of a number of non-metal substances, such as wood orplastic. The invention does not utilize metal as a body section materialbecause metal is heavy and can be overly abrasive. Overly aggressive useof an abrading tool made from metal can accidentally rend the fabricwhere only a slight abrasion or fraying effect is desired. Thus, theinvention is composed of a non-metal substance. This permits gentler andmore detailed work on fabrics that cannot be achieved by the use ofconventional metal tools such as a rasp, intended for woodworking, or afile, intended for metal work.

The body section is elongated and can be of various shapes in theseveral embodiments of the invention. It may be generally flat or it maybe an elongated polygon. In this embodiment the body section may beshaft-like with square ends and multiple working sides. A working sideis an elongated flat surface that can contact the fabric to be treatedat every point of a textured surface. The hand tool in general, and thebody section in particular, is cylindrical in its preferred embodiment.FIG. 5.

A cylindrical shape allows greater control over the material abradedbecause a smaller area of the textured surface comes in contact with thefabric. In addition, the cylinder shape is easier to manufacture when itis made of wood because it can be formed from a dowel using a woodlathe.

The surfaces of the body section are permanently covered by multipletextured surfaces. FIG. 3. The texture is gritty, rough, and rigid, aswith sandpaper, so that the tool will abrade fabrics. In the preferredembodiment, the textured surfaces 2 are relatively narrow strips ofsandpaper. They are glued or otherwise permanently attached onto thebody section and remain stationary. The sandpaper is of varying degreesof coarseness so the user has a selection of surfaces to attain theprecise effect desired on the fabric. Fine grit sandpaper on one sectionproduces less abrasion and coarse grit sandpaper on another sectionproduces more abrasion.

The user of the invention rubs the fabric with the selected texturedsurface on the body section, applying a variable amount of force. Theintegrity of the fabric is compromised to varying degrees proportionalto the length of time spent rubbing, the coarseness of the texturedsurface, and the amount of force applied by the tool upon the fabric.Light use of the abrading tool produces thinning or weakening of thefabric and rigorous use of the tool produces renting.

Opposite the body section of the tool is the handle section. The handlesection provides means for the user to hold the tool in position whilerubbing a piece of fabric. In the preferred embodiment the tool isconstructed from one piece of wooden dowel. The handle section isoptionally comprised of a knob, 3 a finger rest, 4 and a relativelylarger hand grip. 5. The hand grip provides means for applying desiredpressure on the fabric to be abraded without slipping. The inventionunites the handle section and the body section in such a way that thebody section can slide into protective sheath FIG. 2 forming anintegrated unit. FIG. 1

The sheath functions as a cover that fits over the body section and ispreferably formed from a wooden dowel of the same diameter as the handgrip. In this embodiment, the sheath is formed by drilling the inside ofthe dowel so that the body section 1 of the tool will slide easily butfirmly inside the sheath FIG. 2 and stop where the bottom side 5 a ofthe hand grip 5 meets the top side 6 a of the sheath 6. FIG. 1. Thus,the body section and the handle section unite with the sheath, thusforming an integral unit. The sheath protects the textured surfaces ofthe body section and provides for convenient carrying in a pocket orsmall bag.

1. A hand tool for abrading fabric comprising: a rigid and non-metallic body section, a plurality of stationary textured surfaces, a handle section, and a sheath which integrates with said body section with said handle section.
 2. The hand tool of claim 1, wherein said textured surfaces are strips of sandpaper adhesively attached to said body section.
 3. The hand tool of claim 2, wherein the strips of sandpaper are of varying degrees of coarseness.
 4. The hand tool of claim 3, wherein said body section, handle section, and sheath are cylindrical.
 5. The hand tool of claim 3, wherein said body section is comprised of four or more working sides.
 6. The hand tool of claim 5, wherein the body section and sheath are of an elongated polygonal shape corresponding to the number of working sides of said body section.
 7. The hand tool of claim 4 or 6, wherein said handle section comprises a knob, a finger rest, and a relatively larger hand grip.
 8. The hand tool of claim 4, wherein the body section and handle section are made from a single piece of wood.
 9. The hand tool of claim 8, wherein the outside diameter of said sheath is equal to the outside diameter of said handle section.
 10. The hand tool of claim 9, wherein said handle section comprises a knob, a finger rest, and a relatively larger hand grip.
 11. The hand tool of claim 10, wherein the outside diameter of said sheath is equal to the outside diameter of said hand grip. 